Grants:Project/Rapid/Art + Feminism Edit-a-Thon Pacific Northwest College of Art/Report
- Report accepted
- To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/Art + Feminism Edit-a-Thon Pacific Northwest College of Art.
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Goals edit
We fell a bit short in all projections of numbers, but I am nonetheless happy with how the event went. There were 15 people actively making edits, and about 10 of them were new editors. The total number of articles worked on or created (as drafts) was 17. I estimate that around 8 other people came through to see the artist lectures and check out the event, but did not sign up to be editors. One of my biggest goals was to get more students at my institution interested in and informed about Wikipedia, and I had a larger student turnout than I have in the past, so that was very satisfying.
Outcome edit
Please report on your original project targets.
| Target outcome | Achieved outcome | Explanation |
| Recruit new editors | Recruited 10 new editors | Though I hoped to recruit 20 new editors, I consider 10 a success because many of them were students and/or professional artists, who are now hopefully inspired to continue to use and edit Wikipedia for better representation of women in art. |
| Increase skills for existing editors | Increased skills for 4 existing editors | A few attendees had begun learning to edit on their own, and a few had attended Wikipedia Editathons in the past but lack a significant amount of experience in editing. We were able to practice and hone skills for Wikipedia editing. |
| Add or improve content | Added or improved content on 17 pages | Edits were made to several existing pages, and five drafts for new pages were created. For a list, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland/ArtAndFeminism/2018 |
Learning edit
Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:
- What worked well? The space we used was really excellent, and I think PNCA is a good location because it's central, a publicly accessible building, and there's a large parking lot out front. I also checked out a laptop cart from our IT department for people who couldn't bring computers, which was very helpful. The artist talks were a big draw, I think especially because all the speakers were current or past students of the school, which encouraged peers to attend and gave current students a little professional practice as well as a paid opportunity. Having Jason Moore, a Senior Wikipedia Editor, on hand to troubleshoot and share information about Wikipedia was instrumental to the success of this event. Childcare was incredibly important and there were about eight children in attendance. Everyone enjoyed having food and beverages as well.
- What did not work so well? It's difficult to plan when to schedule demos for new editors because attendees were coming and going throughout the day. I'm not sure if the turnout is large enough to schedule workshops, or if it just works better the way I've been doing it, but I found myself giving several mini-tutorials that weren't as thorough as I'd like. I would also like a larger turnout in the future, especially of students at this institution, but also more members of the community. I also made the mistake of having childcare in the same room, which became distracting for the participants at times.
- What would you do differently next time? There are a few things I would like to try for my next editathon. I want to attempt scheduling tutorials for beginner editors in advance, so people who need/want the tutorial know when to arrive. I will definitely plan to have childcare in an adjacent space next time. I also need to work on more outreach within my institution, to encourage more student attendance. I would also love to partner externally with a local organization, arts or otherwise, to expand the field of participants through increased outreach. The other aspect of this partnership is that it would allow me to collaborate more fully with others in the planning and execution of the event, which is a major time and energy commitment when I do it on my own.
Finances edit
Grant funds spent edit
Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.
$100 honorarium for speaker Laura Medina
$100 honorarium for speaker Angela Saenz
$150 for childcare provider Alison Bingham
$89.59 for food and refreshments
Total: $439.59
Remaining funds edit
Do you have any remaining grant funds?
No, since the grant came through after the event, Wikimedia is generously reimbursing me for the exact amount I spent.
Anything else edit
Anything else you want to share about your project?
The funding from Wikimedia Foundation made this event possible, and I am very grateful! Thank you.